OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: 5 and 2 Justin who? Hand the Fields to Wilson

[pistolpete11]

The better questions are: will our OC and QB design and throw to a diverse WR? Which also means throwing it to the middle of the field.

Kupp is obviously the better player, but he's injured a ton. That really rules him out for me. If he was healthy, this is a no brainer add.

But even a healthy Kupp may be limited in this offense. They just don't throw to the middle of the field that often and that's where Kupp really shines.

Right, that's part of the discussion. Because if they are just going to throw moon balls, I'd take Williams, especially since he'd probably be cheaper, too.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Right, that's part of the discussion. Because if they are just going to throw moon balls, I'd take Williams, especially since he'd probably be cheaper, too.

That's pretty much my stance: Kupp is the better player. Williams seems to be the better fit for now.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I know we have concerns about Russ and about Arthur, but do we really think they've decided to build their entire offense around moonballs?

The pass Williams caught Sunday night was across the middle. It was a nice route and Rogers found him. I know we don't think Tomlin will allow it.

But we also saw some improv plays from Russ with alternate arm angles. Kupp is a guy who can not only run a great route but also find a place to be available for his QB.

In the real world, I wonder if they acquire either, but count me in the "Kupp first" group.

 

[UnrealMachine]

The 2nd main reason we are in this situation is because the guy they thought could be a plug & play #3 WR, and potentially a #2, has been injured all season.

 

[xlm34]

IDK man. Believe I remember seeing passing charts this offseason that JF and Russ are middle field averse through their careers. You might chuckle at this thought, but maybe that's part of the reason why Tomlin was all aboard obtaining them?

At some point you have to stop looking at the personnel and believe it's an edict from Tomlin.
Washington and Muth should be eating defenses alive over the middle, but you only see them catch passes there maybe 1 or 2 times a game.

Yeah last year Wilson threw over the middle 5.8% of the time which apparently was dead last in the NFL. So even with Kupp, I doubt we start seeing the middle of the field more.

Although he’s talented enough that I think he could do damage anywhere on the field. And he’s a phenomenal blocker. It’s just the health thing that gives me pause.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Yeah last year Wilson threw over the middle 5.8% of the time which apparently was dead last in the NFL. So even with Kupp, I doubt we start seeing the middle of the field more.

Although he’s talented enough that I think he could do damage anywhere on the field. And he’s a phenomenal blocker. It’s just the health thing that gives me pause.

I think you have to weight the cost vs opportunity. I know that seems obvious, but the key is measuring the opportunity even given the variance in possible outcomes.

 

[pistolpete11]

I know we have concerns about Russ and about Arthur, but do we really think they've decided to build their entire offense around moonballs?

No, they've built their offense around 3-4 yard runs

 

[Peat]

Tbh, I've no idea what the dream design for a Smith/Wilson offence is in the Steelers' eyes.

But I wouldn't be surprised if it consisted mainly of a lot of RB carries, checkdowns, quick passes to the flat, and moonballs, with the middle of the field and intermediate areas being used fairly infrequently by NFL standards. We'll see though. That's something they know better than I do so they go get whoever they'll use.

 

[TooManyHumans]

Wilson can't see the middle of the field because he's short. I don't believe he's ever really thrown there much.

 

[xlm34]

Tbh, I've no idea what the dream design for a Smith/Wilson offence is in the Steelers' eyes.

But I wouldn't be surprised if it consisted mainly of a lot of RB carries, checkdowns, quick passes to the flat, and moonballs, with the middle of the field and intermediate areas being used fairly infrequently by NFL standards. We'll see though. That's something they know better than I do so they go get whoever they'll use.

Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m expecting it to be. Sunday’s game was exciting but I want to see more before I buy my Super Bowl tickets. I’m not demanding 37 points every game, but I’m a little skeptical on how consistently effective that style can be.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

No, they've built their offense around 3-4 yard runs

So we should be looking at adding middling backs. #winkjustincaseyouthoughtiwasserious

 

[Empoleon8771]

I know Wilson doesn't use the center of the field much but this seems like a self perpetuating problem to basically say "we don't use the middle of the field so we can't trade for a middle of the field receiver". They haven't had a good slot receiver type since probably Juju, it's not surprising they haven't been using the middle of the field for years.

But speaking more generally on Kupp, I feel like he's good enough that you can easily create schemes with him as more of a flats type of receiver. I think the argument to consider there is whether Kupp and Freiermuth would be serving the same purpose in that style of offense. That being said, he's such a good fit for how this offense wants to run and he's cost controlled.

 

[pistolpete11]

So we should be looking at adding middling backs. #winkjustincaseyouthoughtiwasserious

They're one step ahead of you.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

I don’t think anyone is moving a 3rd for kupp he hasn’t been healthy since he won the triple crown in 21. He isn’t a big play threat he is often schemed open

 

[bambamcam4ever]

They will throw to the middle of the field far more with Wilson at QB and a receiver the caliber of Kupp in the middle of the field.

Wilson doesn't throw it over the middle

 

[TooManyHumans]

Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m expecting it to be. Sunday’s game was exciting but I want to see more before I buy my Super Bowl tickets. I’m not demanding 37 points every game, but I’m a little skeptical on how consistently effective that style can be.

Yeah, the results were there but Wilson's passes were not sharp or accurate. He did give Pickens a chance though, which is huge. Pickens thrives on contested balls and just needs a chance. The last several years we have had Pickett throwing deep shots out of bounds and then Fields lasering in balls that needed to be right on target or they gave Pickens no chance. Rudolph was the only one that gave Pickens a chance and Pickens thrived under him. If Wilson can get a little more accurate and his arm is not shot, then we might have something better than we have had since Ben blew out his arm.

 

[Peat]

Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m expecting it to be. Sunday’s game was exciting but I want to see more before I buy my Super Bowl tickets. I’m not demanding 37 points every game, but I’m a little skeptical on how consistently effective that style can be.

I love QBs who hit those intermediate areas and middle of field as much as the next person, but I imagine it'll work well enough if the players are there to execute the main bits. That's going to be easier said than done though, particularly when it comes to the OL.

 

[Peat]

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2024/10/23/russell-wilson-justin-fields-jaylen-warren-mike-tomlin-steelers-giants/stories/202410220070

Decent read.

 

[WickedWrister]

I'm not sure why Kupp is being talked about like this middle of the field slant route merchant lol. This was his route tree from week 1.

 

[Peat]

All those routes out to the left would have been great with Fields.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

If i am Khan i am calling Denver again about Courtland. They have a young core of wr who need to play and grow with Nix. They scored 32 points against the Saints and he wasn’t targeted

 

[Goalie_Bob]

If i am Khan i am calling Denver again about Courtland. They have a young core of wr who need to play and grow with Nix. They scored 32 points against the Saints and he wasn’t targeted

If they were going to trade him, it would have been before Denver restructured his contract twice in the past few months.